Freedom High School teacher Paul Larson explains water quality readings to students in Freedom. Larson received a "VIP citation" from the National Future Farmers of America.(Photo11: Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisocnsin)

FREEDOM - The National Future Farmers of America youth group awarded high school agriculture teacher Paul Larson with this year's prestigious "VIP citation."

Larson, who has a career of teaching agriculture at Freedom High School and is the recipient of numerous national, state and local accolades, talked with USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin about the award, the future of agriculture and Freedom's program.

Larson's responses have been edited for length and clarity.

1. Tell us about the award you won.

“The National (Future Farmers of America) gives out honorary recognition to teachers and others who have been supportive to the national mission of the FFA. This is the highest honor that they give out, which is the ‘VIP citation.’ It’s the largest youth group in the country, nearly 700,000 members.

"This is, in my mind, the top award that an adult can receive from a youth organization like FFA for multiple years of service. Part of it was pretty cool because it was a complete surprise. I had no idea until I got to the thing.”

“This is my 32nd year teaching. When I got here there were 39 students in the program. Now we’re pushing 200 students with two of us teaching agriculture in high school. So, it’s grown quite nicely. I’m quite proud of the program we’ve been able to build. Obviously, lots of support from community members and our alumni support group. So, there’s been lots of folks that help make the place go.”

3. What are some of the challenges to teaching agriculture today?

“One of the biggest challenges is, with 300 different career options, it's providing educational opportunities for kids who are interested in all the various opportunities within agriculture.

Most people think that agriculture is just farming. We are so much more than that, it’s unreal. We do everything from aquaculture to wildlife management and landscape and greenhouse management and all those courses in career areas that support the agriculture industry. Certainly, we talk about animals and production a little bit, but we don’t spend a lot of time, in my mind, training farmers.

"We train and educate students on how to learn, how to be inquisitive, how to do labs and experiments to find out how to improve things.”

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Freedom High School teacher Paul Larson, seen here teaching a class in 2016, received a national honor from the Future Farmers of America.(Photo11: Wm. Glasheen/Post-Crescent Media)

4. What is it like preparing children for such a rapidly changing industry?

“In Wisconsin, we’re looking at an $88.3 billion — billion — industry. So, we are in desperate need of employees as the future moves forward here. What we are trying to do is get students excited about agriculture and explain to them what kinds of options that are available to them and what kind of careers are out there, where it isn’t necessarily going to be riding a tractor or milking a cow, but lots of other options.

"That part is exciting for us, to get students excited and show them how the science is really applied. … We get a lot of ‘ah-ha moments’ with kids going, ‘So that’s why we had to know that,’ because then we can use it in this setting with the fish or working with fertilizers or hydroponics or whatever it is. That’s what makes it fun and exciting.”

Larson also has students who just want to learn where their food comes from and the program runs gardens that stock the local food pantry and grow lettuce hydroponically for the school cafeteria.

5. What is the importance of teaching kids about agriculture, even if they don’t go into the field?

“Agriculture to me is logical and practical and you can use what you know to better yourself and your community. So, maybe you don’t want to be in the ag business and working for a cooperative or something, but you can grow vegetables and then have that extra food go to St. Joe’s Food Pantry.

"Agriculture is a big family, community thing where everybody gets along, and we try to help each other where we can. The skills that students learn in our classrooms may not take them (into the field) by it can help explain for them the “why” in agriculture. Why do producers do what they do and how do we get the food to feed the (seven) billion people in the world?”

6. What’s next for you?

“I think, always, as an educator, you’re trying to find new ways to engage students and get them excited about what you’re excited about. How do I keep kids engaged? How do I teach kids who learn differently than I did? How do we reach kids better and get them excited about their learning?”

Retirement is also on the horizon for Larson, so he’s looking forward to getting the program ready for his successor.

“I know what I have done, and I know that I’ve pushed this as far as I personally can take it. I know that I haven’t reached every bit of potential that’s here. So, my hope is whoever comes in new will be young and excited about agriculture and can push us to the higher level of achievement. I like to believe that the foundation here is solid and it’s ready to take off to even great things with someone new and younger coming in.”